The Best Gluten-Free Pizza Crust

Friday night pizza might just be my favorite food ritual! It always means happy kids, a bubbly special drink from Trader Joe’s, perhaps a side of my favorite kale salad, and the best gluten-free pizza on this delicious crust.

I’ve tried a lot of gluten-free pizza crust recipes and this is my favorite. For awhile I was using the crust recipe from this book. It is a great crust, but takes so long to make!

One night when we all wanted homemade pizza, but I didn’t have time to make that crust, I tried this recipe and to my surprise it took half the time and was more delicious than any other crust I’ve made. This pizza crust has the perfect amount of chew and bakes up crispy on the bottom.

One thing I’ve noticed at a lot of restaurants that serve gluten-free pizza is that the pizza never gets crispy on the bottom. Gluten-free things generally need to be baked longer than regular baked goods. This is why you need to add a minute or so to gluten-free bread in the toaster. The same goes for pizza crust.

With this recipe I parbake the crust for 15-20 minute before adding the toppings. Then bake it for another 10-15 minute with the toppings on and you’ll have perfectly crispy, chewy pizza! I bake the pizza on these pans, then transfer it to a wooden cutting board to slice up.

Another great thing about this crust recipe is that it works with basically any gluten-free flour blend. I like the texture and flavor best with my grain-free flour blend, but it also turns out wonderfully with King Arthur Flour and Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flours. You can use what you have on hand.

Let me know in the comments if you make this crust and what flour you use! I usually double this recipe for pizza night and make one classic pepperoni for my boys and my favorite dairy-free pizza (recipe coming soon!) with caramelized onions, bell peppers, and prosciutto. Enjoy!

FAQ

Can I freeze this dough?

You cannot freeze the dough, but the parbaked crusts freeze great! I love making an extra crust and freezing it for later when I make this recipe. Follow all the instructions up to where you bake the crust for the first 15-20 minutes. Bake the crust for the first 15-20 minutes then cool completely. Once cooled wrap in a layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. To bake from the freezer, preheat the oven to 425F (I like to use a pizza stone.) Top the frozen crust with toppings of choice then slide directly onto the pizza stone to bake or bake on a pan. Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes until crispy and the toppings are bubbly.

Help! My dough is too runny!

Your dough might be more runny depending on what gluten-free flour blend you use. All gluten-free flour blends are slightly different and even how you measure the flour can cause differences. See the video above to get a visual on the texture you’re going for. The dough should be more like cookie dough than runny batter. I would suggest mixing the dough for 3-4 minutes first, then adding more flour if needed (just a little at a time!) to thicken it up slightly.

This recipe is really versatile and works with basically any gluten-free flour blend. I like adding a little almond flour when I use a store-bought blend because it gives the crust great flavor and color. If you have to eat nut-free, you can substitute the almond flour with more gf all-purpose flour. The blend I've used most here is King Arthur Flour. If you use a blend that contains xanthan gum like Bob's Red Mill, scale the psyllium husk powder back to 1 teaspoon.

I have also like this crust made with 1 3/4 my grain-free flour blend. It will bake up with a darker color, but has a delicious flavor and texture. (Note: My blend already contains almond flour so you don't need to add any.)

Combine the warm water, sugar, and yeast in a glass measuring cup. Whisk to combine.

While the yeast is proofing for 3-4 minutes, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and psyllium husk powder in the bowl of a stand mixer.

With the mixer running on low, slowly add the yeast mixture and oil. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 3-4 minutes.

Using an oiled spatula, press the dough off the sides into a ball. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425F. Oil a 12-inch round pizza pan. Using oiled or wet hands, press the dough into the pan. The dough will shrink slightly as it bake, so press the dough as thin as you can to cover the pan. Let rise for another 10 minutes.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and add your desired toppings. Bake for another 10-15 minutes depending on your toppings. Let cool for a few minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

Notes

MAKE IT NUT-FREE: Substitute 1/4 cup of gluten-free all-purpose flour for the almond flour.

This crust looks good and I will have to try it – but I’ve gotta say, I’ve been using your Whole Grain Boule dough for pizza crust lately and it is GREAT. Sometimes when I’m making the bread I just make a double batch and then I get a loaf of bread and 3 large pizza crusts out of it. It makes a fantastic thin Naples style pizza crust! First let it rise until it’s about double or so, and the tear off a chunk, roll it out thin on a silicone baking mat with plastic wrap on top while rolling, then par bake it in a 450 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes and you’re in business! 🙂

I’ve made this pizza several times and we love it! I have had a few problems with getting the texture right though (I’m using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour). The dough seems to rather thin, so sometimes i try and add a little more flour but then sometimes it will be too much. Would you consider making a video of this recipe so that we can see how the dough is supposed to look? Thank you very much! 🙂

Erin, this is my first time using this recipe. I used your GF flour mix and added the psyllium. It is very runny; have retread the recipe several times to ensure I didn’t omit anything. Should it be the consistency of thick pancake batter? I’ve used your GF flour mixture in many recipes, and they’ve all turned out great. Any input is appreciated. Thank you.

Hi Dar! I’m so sorry this recipe is giving you trouble. Sometimes the amount of moisture in the air, almond flour, etc. can vary. The dough should be like thick cookie dough rather than pancake batter. I would try adding 1/4 cup more flour and add more if needed to make it thick like cookie dough. I hope this helps!

I’m afraid I had the same problem with the “dough” being like batter. I ended up adding almost 1 cup more gluten free flour and another 1/4 cup almond flour before it was a sticky medium cookie dough. I oiled it and could form a ball and am waiting for it to rise. What is the weight of the flours when you make it? 1 used 140gm as a cup of the AP gluten free. I used Bob’s Red Mill AP not his 1:1 blend. I also scooped my Honeyville almond flour.

Hi Rochelle! If you weighed out the flour instead of measuring it by hand and used 140grams for 1 cup of Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour I can see why it would be too thin. Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour is a lot more dense than other gluten-free flours. I just checked and I use about 210 grams for this recipe total. 1 cup of Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour is closer to 170 grams. I added the grams to the recipe (I never know what is more helpful for people but should start including those!). Thanks for letting me know!

Initially it is like batter, don’t panick! Mix on medium as stated for a full. 3-4 minutes and it comes together beautifully! I also weigh my flours. I use America’s Test Kitchen flour for all of my baking. Love this recipe!

Hi Erin! Super excited to try your recipe, it looks fantastic. One question though – do you know if the psyllium husk can be substituted by ground flax seeds or chia seeds? Sorry if that’s a stupid question, I’m new to gluten free baking! Thanks in advance 🙂 xxx

No worries! I usually use highly active or instant yeast (rather than just active yeast) but the kind you bought will still work – it will just take longer to rise. Just measure out the yeast to 1 1/2 teaspoons like the recipe says because a packet actually has 2 1/4 teaspoons usually. Then just increase the time the dough rises to 45 minutes – 1 hour. I hope it turns out for you!

I have been getting a lot of requests from our customers to integrate Gluten Free crust into the pizzas that we make here at A1, and your recipe listed above helped me make that change for the customers sake.
This crust is also not as bland as what I thought it would have been. Also the reviews that we got from it where so awesome as well.
Thank you for taking the time to post great actionable content that even business owners can implement into their everyday lives.
Yours Truly,
-George

Just made this tonight. The flavor was great. I did have to add almost 2 additional cups of the flour though! I made the flour blend you link to and it turned out very runny with this recipe. So I added 1/5 of a cup at a time until it was the right consistency. 8 scoops later it was finally more dough like. It ended up not being quite enough yeast to make it rise well but overall it was good! The flavor was seriously amazing. Next time, I’ll add the extra flour in the first place and add another teaspoon of yeast. Anxious to try again!! Thank you!!

Do you mean you used my grain-free flour blend? I’ll have to try this with my blend again to double check the recipe. I have made it with both Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 and my blend (the flavor with my blend is so good I agree!) and know it takes more flour with my blend – but it sounds like a lot more! Thanks for letting me know. I know the amount should be correct if using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 but I will re-test with my blend!

I haven’t had luck with anything yeast ed since going gf years back. However, our family all thought thus was the best gf pizza crust we’ve had since going gf. I didn’t have psyllium husk, so I just added a bit more flour. I, too, had thick pancake batter, but went with it. Just spread it out. It came out perfect. I added extra flour to another batch, and it came out thick, chewy, and doughy.

Do you know if this can be made ahead of time and stored (fridge, or freezer)? And has anyone tried cooking it on the stove (I saw elsewhere that someone took dough camping and it turned out great, but they didn’t elaborate on the prep, or cooking).

I’m dying for your “favorite dairy-free pizza (recipe coming soon!) with caramelized onions, bell peppers, and prosciutto.” Any chance this will be posted soon? Pizza has been what I miss the most since cutting gluten, dairy, and eggs out of my diet.

Hi Stephanie! Ok here is what I do for that topping combination – I use Trader Joe’s (or any kind you like) pizza sauce. I saute 1/2 a red onion, 1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper (all 3 of those thinly sliced) in some olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) over medium /medium-low heat until they are very soft and almost caramelized. Add a few sliced of chopped prosciutto and cook until warmed through. Then I top the precooked pizza crust with the sauce, some red pepper flakes, the caramelized pepper mixture and some of the dairy-free parmesan on my site. I usually bake it for another 10-15 minutes with the toppings. So good! I hope you like it!

I just made the pizza for lunch and my husband loved it. I did not use more flour eventhough the mixture was soft and I made the dough and left it to rest overnight. I sprinkled maize flour on the grease proof paper and rolled it out. Perfect best dough ever. Thanks.

I just tried this too and found the consistency like pancake batter. I did not measure flour by weight, and did use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour. I think the 1C water to 1 1/2 C flour ratio is pretty high and am surprised it has turned out for other people! Or maybe our water in the north is wetter? 😉

Yes this definitely doesn’t have the consistency of regular dough. It won’t turn out if you add flour to make it like that. It should be the consistency of cookie dough but not as thin as pancake batter.

I would recommend par-baking the crust and then freezing it (so bake just 15-20 minutes). Then let the crusts cool and wrap them in a layer of plastic wrap and tin foil. You can then place toppings on the pizza straight from the freezer and then bake for 20 minutes at 425F. I hope this helps!

If you boil 3/4 cup water with 2 tbsp olive oil and add that to the flour mix first, let it cool for 20 minutes and then prepare 1/4 cup water sugar and yeast, let that cure for 15 minutes then add yeast mixture to the cooled flour mixture it will gelatinous and make the dough more like wheat dough and you won’t need the husk.

Help, I made your flour blend and weighed the ingredients to do it. But, when I made the pizza dough it was super runny. I didn’t have psyllium so I used gelatin as that is supposed to be a gum substitute. I continued to add another cup of flour mix to thicken it but it was still pourable though. I then poured it into a pan and prebaked it. In the end, it seemed ok, rather heavy, but eatable and good flavour.

Can you please tell me if it was the gelatin that did it, or was there a misprint tin the cups of flour?

I just made this last night. I read the reviews like I often do and had so much hope and fortunately this recipe does not disappoint!! It is everything that is says it is, crunchy, chewy and crusty like a real pizza crust should be! I “almost” can’t tell the difference. I used King Arthur Gluten Free Flour 24oz (NOT the “measure for measure” type which isn’t as good for yeasted bakes). I added Trader Joe’s Almond flour and instead of Psyllium Husk I used ground flax seed because that’s what I had on hand. It seemed to work fine. The mixture was never like a cookie dough for me, much more like a cake batter. I second guessed whether I had put the correct amount of flours in as I was using a 1/4 cup measure because it fits easier into the bag of flour. I therefore added about an 1/8 of a cup of coconut flour which is very absorbent. It never looked like a proper ball because it was too loose to have a real shape or form. Don’t worry, it’s o.k. if it is, it will still turn out just fine! We went on a walk and let it proof for more like an hour and it was huge and puffy almost like a real pizza dough would rise. I poured oil olive drizzle into the pan, swirled it around with my fingers and make sure both hands were oiled and plopped it out in the center of the pan. It was easy to work and not sticky at all because of the oil. My pan was a bit small for this recipe as I like a thiner crust. Maybe next time I’ll use a bigger pan or take out part of the dough. I really enjoyed the taste and texture of this crust. It was better than any product I’ve had that I’ve bought off the shelf and this recipe is spot on and better than most GF recipes I’ve tried!

The only question I have is, how can I mix the dough without a standing mixer? I have a hand mixer and that’s it but I’m done shying away from recipes because of the standing mixer. Although the one time I made something without it, all I could taste was the flour. Help please! 🙂

It doesn’t work to freeze the dough unfortunately! However, it works great to freeze the par-baked crusts. Just stop at the step before you would put the toppings on. Let the crusts cool and then wrap in a layer of plastic wrap followed by tin foil. They will keep in the freezer for up to a month. You can bake them directly from frozen on a hot pizza stone or baking sheet. You can definitely make them individual-sized! Let me know if you have any other questions!

Thanks for sharing , yes I made this crust
using a flour blend I get at a bulk food place . I skipped the psyllium (allergy) and I added a small egg .. Worked out very well . So far one of the best crusts for gluten free . thanks .

So a few things: for the people who are finding it runny – it still works! Just use a spatula or wet hands to shape it and you’re ready to rock (or at least I was, using cup 4 cup).

Also, I used chia seeds instead of psyllium husk (half the amount, though) since I never have psyllium on hand.

Finally, I used this tonight to make hamburger buns and yum!!! I have runny batter with this, so I just globbed 4 rough buns out of the dough onto a baking sheet, and then used wet hands to shape. Turned the heat down to 350 after 10 minutes and they were perfect after 30 (total). Best hamburger buns I’ve had since going GF!!!

Finally…a GF pizza dough recipe that works! We typically have homemade pizza and watch a movie on Sunday nights. Once my daughter was diagnosed with celiac, this went by the wayside as I couldn’t find a recipe that actually tasted like pizza dough. Seriously, they were all worse than terrible. Tried this one ne last night and everyone loved it. Looked like pizza, tasted like pizza. This will definitely be my Sunday night go-to recipe!

Welcome to my blog! My name is Erin. I’m a food-loving mom of 2 busy little boys and I find a lot of joy creating delicious food for the people I love. I eat 100% gluten-free (and mostly dairy-free) because of celiac disease. I'm glad you're here!
More About Erin